“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” – Ephesians 4:30
The Holy Spirit is a person. He is the third Person of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit isn’t “the force”! If Jesus is your Lord, then the Holy Spirit has marked you as God’s child by coming to live within you. Because the Spirit is a person, the Holy Spirit has feelings. That includes feelings about you, since He lives in you. You can grieve Him. You can please Him. So, how does the Holy Spirit feel about you? Think about that for moment…
As God living in you, the Holy Spirit very much wants what’s best for you. The Spirit wants to see you flourish in close relationship with God the Father and Jesus the Son. When you do things that diminish that relationship, it makes the Spirit sad. That’s what it means to grieve the Holy Spirit. He’s sad when you choose to draw away from God. Your body is a temple because God lives in you. When you defile that temple with sin – sinful actions, sinful words, sinful thoughts, sinful inactions – that grieves the Holy Spirit. When you devote yourself to the temporary pleasures of the world and thereby miss out on some of the eternal pleasures of knowing Christ more fully, that grieves the Holy Spirit.
The opposite is also true. When you repent of sin and receive God’s forgiveness in Christ, you delight the Spirit. When you devote more time and energy to worship, prayer, Bible study and meditation, Christian community, service to God, and sharing Christ with others, you delight the Spirit. When you still your mind and listen for the promptings of the Spirit, obeying them as they come, you delight the Spirit. So, how does the Holy Spirit feel about you today? Have you grieved Him recently or is He pleased as you enjoy His presence each day? Don’t grieve the Spirit, #FollowJesus